


Birthdays and Bad Days

by Ninety_Six_Thousand



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: Angst Free, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Ill catch up on angst later, Like say killing an entire family, M/M, This ones not sad, enjoy anyway, thats a first - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 06:54:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9167200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninety_Six_Thousand/pseuds/Ninety_Six_Thousand
Summary: Sonny had been acting off all day. Pete saw it in the way he averted his gaze when someone tried to make eye contact. The way he refused to watch Pete paint, which he usually loved. The way he had barely said two words all day. So, yeah. Pete knew that something was up. He just didn't know what.





	

**Author's Note:**

> No angst, all fluff, look at that, I'll have to make for it somehow. Like, say, killing an entire family. wink. wink.

Sonny had been acting off all day. Pete saw it in the way he averted his gaze when someone tried to make eye contact. The way he refused to watch Pete paint, which he usually loved. The way he had barely said two words all day. So, yeah. Pete knew that something was up. He just didn't know what.

As much as it scared him, he knew that he would have to go to Usnavi eventually. He had been putting it off all day, seeing as how absolutely terrified he was of his boyfriend's cousin. But, he knew it had to be done, so here he was: standing outside of Usnavi and Sonny's apartment procuring the courage to knock.

He was sure that Sonny would laugh if he could see Pete now, constantly raising and lowering his hand in an endless debate over whether or not to knock. Just as he was about to knock (he really _was_ ), Usnavi opened the door.

Pete gave a small laugh and grabbed the back of his neck. "Usnavi! I was just about to knock."

Usnavi raised an eyebrow, amusement playing at the corners of his lips. "We have a window, you know?" He pointed at a window that would allow sight to the door.

"Right..." Pete knew that that was the least convincing thing he could have said, but there were more important things on his mind right now, namely Sonny De La Vega and what might be bothering him.

"Can I come in?" When Usnavi just stared at him he continued, "uhm... please?"

Usnavi sighed but stepped aside. "Make it quick. Today's not a good day."

"Yeah, I've kinda gathered that," Pete mumbled while stepping inside.

He was met by the smell of baking cookies and the sight of Vanessa sprawled across the sofa. When she saw him, she gave a smile.

Vanessa was one of the few friends of Sonny's that had actually taken a liking to him. He was grateful to her for being here, but he couldn't help but wonder why she was here.

"Hey, Pete! You here for Sonny?" She gave an apologetic smile.

Now Pete was more confused than ever. Was he forgetting something? "Yeah... What exactly is going on, Vanessa?"

Her face softened at the question, so Pete knew he probably didn't forget an anniversary or anything.

"Abuela's birthday," a voice behind him piped in.

He jumped, having forgotten that Usnavi was behind him. "Abuela's birthday?"

Vanessa nodded sadly. "Yeah. She would have been 68 today."

Usnavi sighed. "He's been in his room since you dropped him off. If you think you can get through to him, be my guest." Usnavi gave an almost cruel laugh.

Pete would be startled at the abrupt topic change were he not expecting it, given the circumstances. He was almost sorry as he headed to Sonny's room, but his boyfriend was above Usnavi right now in his mind.

He debated knocking before opening the door to Sonny's room, deciding that Sonny might not let him in if he knocked anyway.

"Hey, Son." Pete knew that his voice was bending so as not to get close enough to Sonny to hurt him, and he knew that Sonny wouldn't appreciate it very much, but he just didn't care.

"Pete." His voice punctured something deep in Pete's chest. It was worse than if had been sad, this voice was completely devoid of emotion.

Pete sat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sonny was rigid and tense, staring ahead at nothing as though he was seeing everything.

"Sonny, I'm so sorry."

Sonny laughed, his voice cracking despite the cruel tone in his voice. "Shouldn't you be saying that to Usnavi?"

The smile on Sonny's face nearly broke Pete's heart. "Wh-what?"

He shook his head. "That's what everyone else is doing, right? So why don't you do it, too?" Tears were starting to form in the corners of his eyes and Pete longed to wipe them away and make everything better. But he knew he couldn't. So he just held Sonny and listened. "She was my Abuela, too, Pete. I loved her too." Pete could see the tears falling down Sonny's face. Glistening sadness desecrating a face that has only ever been meant for joy. "But people don't get that, you know? They all think I was somehow less close to her or something. It _hurts,_ Pete. It hurts to know that she will _never_ celebrate another birthday. Never look at the stars. Never light another candle. I will never see her again, Pete. And that _hurts._ "

Sonny was fully crying now, head almost buried in Pete's chest. He rubbed circles on his back while mumbling, "Shhh, Cariño. It's okay. I've got you now, Sonny."

It must have been half an hour before Sonny seemed to finally dry up. His bottled up sorrow finally seeming to have reached its end, at least, for now.

Sonny was still clinging to him desperately, as though letting go meant getting lost, though Pete figured that maybe that was true. "Hey, Cariño. Are you okay now?"

Sonny, who was wiping away tears that were still slowly coming and was obviously _not_ okay, smiled and nodded. Pete, in moments like these, never failed to wonder at how strong Sonny was in the face of all opposition.

He forced a smile against the fraggled state that Sonny was in and said, "They've got cookies in the oven. If you want some."

Sonny's smile faltered before he realized and put it back in place. "I know. Abuela never liked cake, so we always made her cookies on her birthday instead."

"You want to go get some?"

Sonny sighed against Pete's chest and shook his head. "Nah. I'm sorry that I got your shirt wet."

Pete laughed at his boyfriend's ridiculous worries. "It's fine, Cariño." He thought about it for a second before adding, "Besides, I could take it off if you want?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Sonny laughed before nodding. "Alright. But nothing more. Usnavi's in the living room and him walking in on us is possibly the worst thing I can think of."

Pete hummed his agreement before sitting up to tug off his shirt. Sonny was transfixed by his boyfriend's chest - much like he always was. There was that scar that Pete got from falling onto a piece of glass when he was painting. The one he got in a fight. The burn mark from when he held a Roman candle too close to his chest. The paint that he somehow got on his skin under his shirt.

Sonny smiled at that. His boyfriend was possibly more messy than him.

As soon as Pete sat down, cold fingers made their way to the scars on Pete's chest, tracing absently along them. "Do you think she would have approved? Of, y'know... this?" Sonny gestured vaguely toward the two of them.

Pete wanted desperately to just say yes. But he couldn't lie to Sonny. "I don't know. But I do know that she loved you very very much. And that this wouldn't have changed that."

Sonny hummed his agreement as though that's exactly what he was waiting to hear. His fingers took a break as his mouth connected to the scars instead.

Pete laughed. "Cariño, I thought you didn't want Usnavi to catch us?"

Sighing, Sonny whined, "The door's closed." Pete smiled, but didn't argue any further. Besides, soon there were better things to do with his mouth than argue.


End file.
